ANP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:49
Kysia Hekster
European Union Correspondent
Bottom of the Rie
Editor Brussels
Kysia Hekster
European Union Correspondent
Bottom of the Rie
Editor Brussels
There is deafening silence around the European Union during the election campaign. This is striking, because the EU is increasingly manifesting itself as a geopolitical player, for example in the wars in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. More and more legislation in force in the Netherlands is also being drawn up by Dutch ministers and civil servants in Brussels. A slightly more outward-looking look in the campaign would be justified.
Research by Ipsos on behalf of the NOS showed that voters determine their vote choice almost exclusively by domestic themes. Inflation, housing, healthcare and migration lead the way. It is therefore not surprising that political parties wrote down their ideas about what is happening abroad at the back of their election manifesto, with the exception of Volt.
The war in Ukraine receives the most attention and “has made the unimaginable imaginable again”, writes the VVD. According to GroenLinks-PvdA, Russia wants to disrupt the international legal order and the country is also “undermining the peace project of the European Union”. Newcomer NSC writes: “a well-equipped armed force is necessary to promote the international legal order and stability”.
The three parties leading the polls are calling for the legalization of the NATO standard of two percent of gross domestic product for defense. CDA, BBB, SGP, Volt, JA21 and D66 are also in favor of that.
No sexy one-liner
The VVD wants proposed new member states to meet all conditions associated with EU membership and calls this “strict and fair”. GroenLinks-PvdA believes that Ukraine and the countries in the Western Balkans should be given a realistic prospect of membership and advocates the possibility of gradual accession of new countries. NSC wants a decision on the accession of new countries to be the subject of a corrective referendum.
The European discussion about reform does not easily lend itself to a sexy one-liner, but political parties are not really making an effort to do so, as appears from further study of the party programmes.
United States of Europe
The pro-European Volt has the most radical reform proposal. A “United States of Europe” with only one Minister of Foreign Affairs for the entire European Union “who has a full mandate to shape relations between the EU and the rest of the world. Ultimately, we have no national ministries in the EU more needed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the party writes.
The Party for the Animals wants European summits to become public, the SP wants less EU and calls for the abolition of the European Commission. PVV and Forum for Democracy are going one step further and want to leave the EU. JA21 wants Dutch laws to take precedence over European law, something that is at odds with the EU’s core principle that rulings of the European Court in Luxembourg are binding on all member states and apply throughout the EU.
Effective asylum policy
When it comes to migration, which is such an important topic in the Netherlands, parties are also looking to Brussels. For example, the VVD writes about the possibility of one opt-out, an exceptional position for the Netherlands in the field of asylum, something that NSC, SGP, JA21 and BBB also want. Reference is often made to Denmark, which already has such an exceptional position.
But in practice it is complicated to obtain that exceptional position. The basic principle is that legislation and regulations in areas where agreements are made within the EU should be as equal as possible.
GroenLinks-PvdA also looks to the EU when it comes to migration and writes “if it is not possible to reach agreement in Europe on a fair and effective asylum policy, we will make agreements with a ‘coalition of the willing'”.
Although foreign policy does not appear to play a significant role in these House of Representatives elections, the elections for the European Parliament will be held next June. Then abroad and the EU will inevitably have a prominent position in the campaign.
2023-11-14 05:49:03
#geopolitical #importance #participate #election #campaign
